Farsite must build credibility for what data analytics can do for clients, said co-founder Michael Gold, executive director of the division.

“We see Big Data as still in its early infancy,” Gold said. “The conversation with Scott Feinberg and other pundits largely mirrors a lot of internal discussions going on within organizations: What are the proof points you’re going to use to make important decisions?”

Feinberg’s argument, made days before last year’s ceremony, was that stats can’t predict the whimsy of 6,000 members of the academy. But Farsite says many of those same members vote in other awards contests leading up to the Oscars, leaving trails of data.

“If you’re a retailer, you can say the same thing: I have millions of customers ... how could I address each and every one of their concerns? The answer is you can’t,” Gold said. “The ability to look for trends across periods of time in large data sets, you’re able to derive patterns and insights you might not be able to do otherwise.”

This year Farsite released predictions just seven days ahead of Sunday’s ceremony, in contrast with more than a month of buildup last year. That too, is a data-based decision, Gold said, since the blog’s viewers were most excited during Oscars week.

Watch for more predictions around elections and World Cup soccer, he said.